Pousada in Beja
Pousada in Beja – Hotel Sao Francisco
In the former 13th century Franciscan Convent located in the heart of the historical centre of Beja, we find the impressive Pousada of Beja, Sao Franscisco.
The first records of this Convent, date from the 10th November of 1268, marking the donation of lands, for its construction, from Paio Pires to Lopo Esteves.
This luxury hotel in Beja combines the mystic monument with the needs of today’s standards of well-being and comfort. The Pousada has an excellent service and offers the best regional grastronomy in its restaurant. The environment allows guests to relax both body and mind. A true oasis in the Alentejo plain.
We stayed 3 nights in the this Pousada while touring Portugal and we thought it an excellent place to stay and explore the region. The Pousada itself was lovely, staff were very friendly and efficient, food was very good and the whole place had a lovely atmosphere. We would certainly stay here again if in the area.
The poussada in Beja retains the atmosphere of the old monasteries – which we really liked. It has not been modernized beyond recognition. The reception staff were very helpful. The breakfast was ample and good and there are good restaurants in the area (including a vegetarian one!). The grounds are lovely.
There are a couple of critiques – the pool was full of debris which made it difficult to swim in; the bathroom tiles are showing considerable wear and need tending to. Also, the doors are installed in such a way that the knobs don’t turn, so the only way to shut the doors is to pull them; in doing so they make a loud noise. You hear banging doors up and down the halls, which echo in the cavernous space. I think that it is possible to correct that without too much difficulty.
These are small objections and would not stop us from visiting again!
We had stayed at the pousada previously with our friends. This time they booked a twin room and we booked a double, fortunately as the hotel was not full in November we were able to change. The twins are more spacious and look out on to the garden and pool, the doubles are small and look onto concrete and railings – no comparison! Our room was changed with no problem but I would not have been impressed in the height of the season with no other rooms available.
We went adventuring and ate in a great local restaurant opposite the castle,
good value. Breakfast buffet was great and accessibility to the town was very good.
This was our first stop on a tour of three Pousadas (the others being Evora and Alcacer do Sal)
This is a stunningly beautiful building. The bedrooms are good and of a reasonable size. The garden and pool areas are good. The reception staff were very pleasant and extremely helpful.
There do not appear to be any decent restaurants in Beja, but we found the 20 euro menu quite acceptable in the hotel, where the dining room is quite magnificent – although we agree with a previous comment that the children’s play area was not in the ideal position in relation to the dining room.
Beja is very pleasant and worth a visit for a couple of days
Pousada Sao Francisco is a lovely building in a nice town.
The restaurant was pleasant and the food was good and reasonably priced. The staff were v. helpful. The rooms are spacious and clean.
My only negative comment is that there is an very ugly coloured plastic children’s play area which spoiled most views to the back of the hotel and from the restaurant.
It should either not be there, or been wooden and then would have blended better.
Only an overnight stop, recommended for the beautiful building and the good restaurant. And it more than met our expectations. The restaurant was excellent – the food and the service – and the very helpful waiter recommended an excellent local wine. A very good introduction to the Alentejo.
We had a very good time in Beja and we liked the pousada very much. The service was exceptionnally good as well as the food. Beja itself was a pleasant surprise for us! We were stopping there as a midway point between Seville and Lisbon and were charmed by the city and its many attractive sightsHighly recommended!
Our second visit – one night only unfortunately – to this charming and atmospheric pousada. A warm welcome and very helpful staff. We were asked very politely if we would move our car to another spot in the car park as the President of Portugal was coming to dinner and needed the parking space! Very comfortable room off the wide corridor on the 1st floor,which over looked the inner courtyard. The room itself had a view of the garden and swimming pool. Large bathroom,. but lighting could have been better and the over-bath shower was poor. No other criticisms at all, except that 3 euros for a bottle of water – put out on the table and not in the mini-bar, so we thought it was complementary – seemed rather steep. Excellent buffet breakfast. All beautifully decorated and retaining the atmosphere of a previous existence. We loved it.
El edificio es grandioso, interiormente poco iluminado. El personal muy atento y agradable. Sólo el cuarto de baño ha de ser renovado urgentemente.
wonderful atmospheric hotel. There was a wonderful pianist playing for much of the afternoon and evening, quietly but it added to the enjoyment of tea and later drinks on the patio.
Great food and very friendly and helpful staff, yet another wonderful posada experience.
This was our first Pousada stay and it did not disappoint in any way; we subsequently stayed in several others and were equally pleased. Beja is a delightful walking town, with everything accessible by foot from the Pousada. The courteous and helpful staff made us feel very much at home, the room and bed very comfortable, the parking area quite secure, and the breakfast buffet a marvelous start to the day. The building is a true monument to the past, and delights the eye at every turn.
We stayed at the Beja Pousada in September 2009 for the second time as we
had enjoyed it so much on the first visit in June 2008. The second visit did not disappoint. Our stay was excellent and we had a lovely room with a view of the swimming pool. It is very relaxing and is our favourite Pousada to date. A very appealing feature is that they have retained the chapel and
atmosphere of the convent. We also enjoyed having our breakfast on the terrrace overlooking the pool. We fully intend to visit again. The Reception staff were always very helpful and it is a very pleasant village with lots to see.
Beautiful building right in a quiet part of town. Lovely grounds and impressive dining room. Dinner was excellent if a little lonely for my wife and I as only 3 other guests ate with us on a Saturday night in June. Check IN staff very friendly and helpful. Room large and very comfortable but unfortunately we had no hot water for the first night despite telling reception on 2 occasions.
Our real problems came at check out where none of our 3 credit cards would work and after 45 minutes of stress and discussion I had to pay cash. I later found out that the whole of Portugal had a banking problem at that time so not the staff at the Pousada who were at fault but they handled it badly and should have a manual system in place as a back up to chip and pin.
Worth visiting as i am sure our problems were unusual.
I very much enjoyed my stay here while making a round tour of Alentejo. I was impressed with the service at a lovely dinner that was served outside on the terrace overlooking the swimming pool. The breakfast buffet was also excellent.
I also thought this was very good value (€ 78 per night breakfast included), especially compared to the prices at accomodation of this standard in Holland.
We found reception staff at Pousada Sao Francisco to be efficient, friendly and helpful. The bedroom style was in keeping with the convent atmosphere, but nonetheless comfortable and very acceptable with an interesting view of an adjacent town square, though there was no noise intrusion. Coffee-/tea-making facilities would have been appreciated. The rest of the building is fascinating – great to wander around with the echoes following you! We felt that the dining room is particularly impressive and the food, though expensive, really good. The pousada is well placed for exploring Beja and adjacent towns of great interest like Serpa. All-in-all, a wonderful place to stay.
The staff at Pousada Sao Francisco in Beja was helpful and always with a friendly greeting when we entered the reception area. The bedroom was spotlessly clean and comfortable. It is located in the very midst of Beja which is a nice town for strolling around. The pousada, itself, is a nice place to investigate nooks and cranies. The restaurant has all kinds of atmosphere and the meals were of the best quality. It is one of those places that will be memorable for quite some time after visiting.
Lovely charming place to stay. The breakfast was good and the staff helpful. The bar was deserted and closed so you had to ring for service which was a shame as it really was not a very cozy place to go and have a drink. Room was charming but could have been cleaner as the carpet was really dirty and stained. Not what you expect in an accomodation of the level of a Pousada. We did not have dinner in the dining room but went to a nearby restaurant where the meal was excellent. It is a very pretty town to visit.
We loved your Pousada. The room was clean and very comfortable and the food was delicious for both dinner and breakfast. As there was a great deal of rain and wind, the door rattled all night, which sounded like someone in the next room going in and out during the night. Such thoughts just added to the hostoric feel of the Pousada. Thank you for a wonderful stay.
Emily and Charlie Jones
A wonderful experience in this atmospheric Pousada. Staff were all helpful and knowledgable, rooms were good and the food in the large dining hall superb. Set in the upper part of the town there was plenty to do & see.
We really enjoyed our New Years Eve at this Pousada. The food was excellent, the service and friendly atmosphere helped enormously.
The view from our room was OK.
Would certainly recommend anyone to go and stay at this Pousada.